


Here we are (me and you)

by VeriLee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, Reylo - Freeform, lazy sweet smut, m for mushy, seriously these two are so soft for each other, waffle house au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 10:46:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17181494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeriLee/pseuds/VeriLee
Summary: Working the overnight shift at Waffle House isn't exactly a thrilling way to usher in the new year, but Rey Johnson has never expected much from this holiday anyway. However, when her favorite customer walks in the door, her night gets a little brighter.---A New Year's eve Reylo fic with awkward flirting and a kiss that comes well after midnight, served up with a side of waffles.





	Here we are (me and you)

__

 

 

_"Wonder whose arms_  
_Will hold you good and tight_  
_When it's exactly_  
_Twelve o'clock that night_  
_Welcoming in the New Year_  
_New Year's eve."_

_~*~*~_

          

The dingy T.V. in the back office - the one that was supposed to be hooked up to the security camera, but rarely ever was – broadcast images of the buoyant crowds of partiers flooding Times Square.

The young and the young at heart were gathered to bid goodbye to the past and toast the days to come with fifteen thousand of their closest friends and relations, in the loud, chaotic streets of New York City. It was the quintessential New Year’s Eve experience.

Almost two thousand miles away, Rey Johnson rolled her eyes as the throng cheered for the dropping of the ball. It was only eleven o'clock and already the second time she'd listened to the strains of a drunken crowd filling the air with an off-key rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, since the local station re-broadcast the scene for each time zone. Another day and a new calendar... it didn't make much difference to Rey. She didn't anticipate any grand new changes in her life, just because the clock struck midnight. She took another gulp of her coffee - fuel to get through the overnight shift, and sighed.

The bells hanging on the front door jingled and Rey rose to her feet as the manager, Unkar Plutt, had just started to holler "Johnson!" from the kitchen. Nearly everyone else had asked for the night off but, since Rey had never been much for drinking (too many bad memories of watching her emotionally distant mother sneaking vodka into water bottles just to get through the day) and didn't have any close friends in town to drag her along to any parties (Rose and Finn were still out east, having gone to visit Rose’s family for the holidays - their first real _Meet the Parents_ excursion), and she _could_ use the extra cash, Rey now had the pleasure of holding down the fort with Plutt, playing both hostess and server for the occasional diner with a late night craving. It would pick up around two a.m. or so, when the barhoppers would pour in, seeking cheap, greasy food. But luckily Jess Pava would be in to help by then.

“On it!" Rey shouted back, smoothing her apron and making her way to the mostly empty lobby.

She stopped in surprise as she spotted one of her favorite regulars, a certain Ben Solo, lurking by the hostess stand. Even hunched over, his massive frame dwarfed the podium.

Between his intense, soulful amber brown eyes, lips that were absolutely _made_ for sin, and a body that put the entire lot of Hollywood Chrises to shame _(in her humble opinion, anyway)_ surely he'd racked up more party invites than a kid cheating at skee-ball collected tickets.

So what on earth was he doing in a Waffle House at eleven-oh-five on New Year's Eve?

“Evening, Rey," Ben said with a small nod.

Instead of prying, Rey tried to surreptitiously smooth some strands of brown hair that had escaped her casual, messy bun and hoped that her face wasn't _too_ sweaty, four hours into a ten-hour shift. With her patented customer service smile plastered across her face, she gestured around the vacant room and said, as she would have to any other customer, “Anywhere you'd like."

Ben shuffled to the same seat he'd occupied at least three times a week for the better part of the past two months: a booth, not far from the swinging door to the kitchen, where he would sit and pour over documents and files, marking slashes across papers with one hand while shoveling food into his mouth with the other. He was in town overseeing some merger for the company he worked for - First Order Enterprises - and often frequented the Waffle House within walking distance from his hotel, claiming to be bored of room service.

How anyone could tire of room service was beyond Rey but, regardless of his decision-making process, she’d first grown used to his presence, and then come to look forward to it. Over the weeks, they’d become friends of sorts, or at least that’s how it felt to Rey – she had certainly shared more of herself with him than any of her other regulars. It hadn’t exactly been planned, but for some reason talking with Ben was easy, natural. On slower days, she was likely to linger when she came by to refill his coffee and, at the end of her shifts, she could often be found sitting at the next table over, wrapping cutlery and sharing fragmented bits of conversation.

She gathered that he came from a very different background than her – a family with money and prestige in his hometown community, in stark contrast to her upbringing, being pulled by Child Protective Services from her mother’s home, such as it was, and dragged through a series of foster homes. But in spite of those differences, they both shared a certain loneliness, and sense of longing; she felt as though Ben could see a side of her that her other friends didn’t quite recognize.

He was fidgety - tapping his fingers on the table as though he wasn't going to order the same thing as always (egg white omelet with mushrooms and a side of turkey bacon; the healthy entree then offset with a waffle, topped with chocolate and peanut butter chips and a mound of whipped cream) and Rey couldn't help but notice he wasn't lugging his briefcase or stacks of binders with him – not that she expected him to be working so late on a holiday, but business _was_ what usually brought him in. He was dressed casually as well, having traded his typical crisp business suits for faded jeans and a plaid flannel shirt that struggled to stretch across his broad chest in the most appealing way, but he didn’t seem particularly relaxed.

When Rey refilled his coffee for the third time before he'd touched his food, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

“Why are you here on New Year’s Eve?” she blurted out. “Instead of some swanky black-tie corporate event? Surely your company has something going on tonight?”

“Yeah, there was a big party, apparently to _‘usher in both the new year and the new partnership._ ’ But I avoid those things whenever I can," Ben replied with a slight wince.

“Or even a bar or club, then. I mean, you might not know many people outside of work, but you could _definitely_ have your pick of any girl out there," Rey said, unable to stop herself. She cringed internally at her lack of filter.

Ben choked a little on his coffee and the tips of his ears, peeking out through his mane of shiny, dark locks, noticeably reddened.

“Um, not my scene either," he mumbled, dabbing at a splash of coffee on the table top. “Anyway, you're here too."

Rey paused. Was he saying “ _You're not one to talk, you're here on New Year’s Eve, too"_ or did he mean _“I'm here_ because _you're here"?_ As much as they had chatted over the past weeks, flirting had never been a part of their interactions.

Opting to not embarrass herself further by reading into Ben's words, Rey just smiled and said “Gotta pay the bills. Hey, want me to get that remade for you?" she tacked on, nodding towards Ben's plate.

Ben looked down at the melting pile of whip on his waffle and the congealing lump that used to be an omelet. “Nah. It's my fault for letting it get cold."

“Don’t sweat it. The kitchen is far from backed up and Plutt needs something to do other than sit on his ass,” she countered. She'd complained about the lazy kitchen manager often enough for Ben to know him by name.

Rey took the plate and was back a few minutes later with fresh food and a bin of forks, knives, and napkins to roll. As she placed the new omelet and waffle in front of Ben, she saw the left corner of his mouth twitch with a hint of a smile as he noticed the chocolate chip and whipped cream smiley face she’d instructed Plutt to put on his waffle.

“Someone's happy to see you," she chanced, with a tone that she hoped came across as flirtatious and not creepy.

Ben looked up. “The waffle?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

_Success_ , Rey thought triumphantly.

“Maybe not just the waffle." She grinned inwardly at the slight pink that colored his cheeks and dropped into the seat across from him with her bin of flatware. “Mind if I sit with you? I'm bored and it's far too quiet."

There wasn't another patron in the restaurant to attend to at the moment, not that Rey really _needed_ the excuse.

“Not at all," Ben answered, meeting Rey's eyes for a moment then glancing down at his plate, suddenly engaged with pushing mushrooms around with his fork.

For the next few minutes, they sat in companionable quiet as the notes of the soft musak filled the air around them - Rey rolling silverware and Ben eating his food.

“You're not here to work tonight," Rey stated, rather than asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Ah, no," Ben started. "The merger is pretty much wrapped up now. Just a few loose ends to tie up; _i'_ s to dot and _t_ 's to cross."

Rey felt her heart sink. He'd be leaving town soon, then. “Well, that will be nice for you,” she said, forcing a smile. “You must be eager to get home." She hoped her disappointment wasn't too apparent in her voice. 

“Actually," Ben said, paying a great deal of attention to the bit of waffle he was currently dragging through a puddle of syrup, before looking back up at Rey, “my boss asked if I want to stay on here and head this district. They were initially going to keep the former manager on after the buyout, but he opted to take the severance instead."

“Oh." Rey worked to temper the little flutter of hope she felt inside. “Is it a job you'd like?"

Ben shrugged. “Pay is about the same. It might be a little awkward working long-term with the employees who didn't want the merger. Usually, I get to skip town after I make everyone hate me," he continued with a wry grin. “But I'm considering it."

Rey chuckled lightly as she finished wrapping her final set of silverware - she'd be set for a week's worth of shifts, after all the napkin-folding she’d got through tonight. She carried the entire bin to the next table over and then sat back down.

“And you don't have anyone special to be getting back to? Someone else who might want a say in the decision?" she hedged. She fiddled with the salt shaker in the center of the table, lamenting the lack of anything productive to occupy her hands, to quell her nervous fidgeting. She didn’t _think_ he was seeing anyone – he certainly never mentioned it before - but the topic had never been broached outright.

“No," Ben replied. The answer was simple, direct, but the solitary syllable was heavy with intention that Rey hoped to the stars that she was reading correctly. His dark eyes held hers until the jingle of the bells at the door disrupted them, pulling them from their reverie.

Rey reluctantly stood up and headed toward the front, casting a quick, sad smile over her shoulder. “I'll check in with you later," she said, reverting regretfully to server-mode.

A trio of young women entered, in varying degrees of tipsiness, followed by a fourth, more sober and decidedly less enthusiastic lady, who no doubt had been roped into being the designated driver for the night. Rey sat them at a table, plastering a smile on her face as she served them coffee and sent in orders for their smothered hash browns.

It was early yet – a glance at the clock confirmed that midnight had come and gone without fanfare – but Rey knew the women represented the first trickle of the late night rush of party-goers and barhoppers that would now start to fill the dining area, in search of comfort food to counter all the alcohol imbibed during their various New Year's celebrations.

In between serving the table of gigging drunk girls, Rey returned to Ben's table more than once to fill the water glass he had switched to (calling it quits on coffee after his fourth cup) and to clear his plate but, as more diners filtered in, she became too busy to sit back down and resume their conversation. Eventually, she brought him his bill, not finding any way to delay the inevitable any longer. To her surprise, however (and Plutt's annoyance at not getting the table flipped, she was sure) he didn't leave but, rather, remained in his seat, sipping on his water with lemon. When Jess breezed in just before two a.m. to start her shift, Rey jumped at the brief window of opportunity.

“I'm taking my fifteen!" she hollered into the kitchen, earning a disgruntled glare from Plutt.

"You can't take a break," he grumbled over the grill. “We're about to get slammed."

Rey rolled her eyes. "Which is why I'm not taking the thirty _that you legally owe me,_ " she said – not that she would put Jess through that. “I'll be back soon enough," she finished, effectively cutting off any further argument from her irritated boss. 

Leaving her apron on a hook behind the counter, Rey let Jess know she'd be back to help in a few minutes and made her way to the front, where Ben was still sitting, dozing off a little in the booth. She smiled at the sight of the usually so put-together man, now reclined against the cracked vinyl seat, mouth hanging slightly open as he nodded off.

“Hey," she said gently, by way of greeting, unsure how to recapture or reignite the moment they'd had earlier as she slid back into the seat opposite him. “I'm on break for a few minutes."

Ben stirred and sat up, looking lost for a moment. “Oh, hey,” he slurred slightly. “Sorry about that."

“Not that I'm going to complain about you sticking around, but I'd bet that the bed in the hotel your fancy-shmancy company put you up in is more comfortable than our bench seats," Rey teased. “Warmer too, probably."

“Considerably more lonely, though." Ben's low voice held a hint of a question in it and his eyes a flicker of hopeful promise.

Rey gnawed at the inside of her cheek as she felt herself flush for reasons that had nothing to do with rushing around for the last hour. “So, speaking of sticking around…before we got interrupted earlier, you were talking about possibly staying in town?"

Ben shrugged, with poorly feigned nonchalance, even to Rey's observation. “As I said, there's not much tempting me to go back." He met Rey's gaze with steady determination. “I guess I was hoping there might be something to tempt me to stay here."

“Our waffles are pretty awesome," Rey said with a smile.

“No, waffles aren't enough."

“Not even with whipped cream?"

Ben smirked a little, getting into the game. “Not even with whipped cream."

“Well we have some pretty interesting museums," she continued with a fake-casual shrug.

"Nah." Ben folded his hands on the Formica table top. He leaned across the table and Rey found herself mimicking his posture.

“What about the scenery? The mountains? Everyone wants a place with a view?"

"Getting closer. The view _is_ pretty nice from here."

Rey licked her bottom lip, not missing how Ben's eyes darted down to follow the movement.

“I might be able to think of a convincing reason," Rey said, softly, "if you give me a little time."

“Oh yeah?"

Rey nodded and her own eyes dropped down to Ben's plush mouth. “You know, I've just realized something."

“And what's that?" _When exactly had he gotten so close?_

Rey was nearly standing up, leaning over the table as far as she could. “You never got your New Year's kiss," she said, as if she hadn't been rolling her eyes about the tradition only hours ago.

“Neither did you," Ben responded, his voice low and gravely and sending a tremor through her. “But it's midnight somewhere."

“No, it's not. It’s a quarter after," Rey retorted, as if that mattered at all.

“Do you really care?"

“Not in the slightest," Rey said, her voice barely more than a whisper, before she finally, _finally_ closed the gap between herself and Ben.

There were no cheering crowds, no streamers, no choruses of loud singing. Just the scraping of forks against plates and the chitter chatter of tipsy and tired customers all around them, but that didn't seem to matter as Ben's lips moved against hers, at turns soft, then insistent. Rey braced her hands against the table as she leaned into him, a soft sigh escaping her mouth when he lifted one of his hands to cup her neck, his thumb rubbing a small pattern against her jaw. She refrained from climbing right across the table and into his lap. Barely.

When she finally pulled back and stared into Ben's eyes, nothing had changed, and yet _everything_ had changed.

“Happy New Year, Ben," she said, a silly, giddy smile stretching across her face.

"Happy New Year, Rey." He reached across the table, capturing one of Rey's hands with his own. A moment stretched out for an eternity as they lingered, staring at each other.

“I should probably get back to work, but can I see you when my shift is over?" Rey finally asked. It would be five a.m. but Rey couldn't be bothered to mind.

“I'd like that a lot," Ben replied eagerly. “I'll wait. I came here tonight hoping by some chance you'd be here,” he blurted out.

“No, you should get some rest. Maybe I could come and meet you at your room later?" she asked nervously, hoping she wasn't being too forward. Sure Ben had kissed her, but that wasn't quite the same as inviting herself to his hotel.

Ben's breath hitched and then he nodded. “Yeah," he breathed out, his dark eyes focused intently on Rey's. “Definitely. Yes.”

She followed him to the exit, kissing him twice more before finally letting him slip out the door with a promise to meet him in a few short hours. The memory of his lips on hers and the anticipation of repeating that – and hopefully more – kept her going for the rest of her shift, and not even Jess's teasing could faze her.

The "post-last call" rush thankfully helped Rey's last few hours fly by fairly quickly. The downside, however, was that she also felt tired as a dog, and as grimy as one too, by the time five a.m. rolled around. When she finally clocked out and hung up her apron, Rey popped into the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

With a sigh, she took inventory of what she saw in the mirror. Bags under her tired hazel eyes, wisps of chestnut brown hair flying in every direction, and what little makeup she'd started the night with had been rubbed or sweated away. She would hardly feel like a sexy seductress showing up outside Ben's door, and contemplated calling the whole thing off.

On the other hand…

They hadn't exchanged cellphone numbers ( _Why oh, why_ hadn't they exchanged numbers?); she had just gotten Ben's room number at the Hyatt House Suites and had promised to walk over after work. She _could_ call the front desk and ask to be put through, but what if Ben thought she was blowing him off? And what if he opted to lick his wounds and avoid returning to the Waffle House, until he left town altogether?

Besides, she reassured herself, they’d gotten to know each other fairly well throughout the previous weeks, and he’d certainly seen her in more harried and unkempt states than this on busier days. Rey grit her teeth and nodded firmly at her reflection, her eyes filling with a newfound determination.

With a final goodbye to the morning crew now making their way into work, Rey sauntered out the door and down the road to Ben's hotel. The Waffle House she worked at was just off the interstate, situated near a couple of gas stations and a handful of motels and hotels, Ben’s being one of the nicer ones, that catered to business professionals on extended stays.

She tried not to let her nerves get the better of her as she took the elevator up to the tenth floor. Did this constitute a booty call? Surely not, right? Something inside her warmed, soothing her jittery nerves when Ben opened the door before she'd even finished knocking.

_He had been waiting for her._

“Hi," she said softly smiling.

“Hi." Ben didn't look much more rested than her – still in the jeans and flannel he'd been wearing earlier, though considerably more rumpled now, his dark hair messy, and his own eyes red with lack of sleep. It was perfect.

“Come on in," he said, stepping to one side and letting Rey into the room, running one large hand through his hair, a move that Rey had grown to recognize as a nervous habit.

Rey walked by, and, emboldened by the fact that Ben was just as anxious as she was, reached for his free hand as she passed, tugging him to follow her to the couch, where she plopped down without grace or ceremony.

“I'm kinda beat," she said with a sigh, “but I still wanted to come over."

“I'm glad you did." Ben sank into the cushion next to her, not letting go of her hand. He traced his thumb in little circles at the soft juncture between her thumb and forefinger.

“Did you get some sleep, at least?" Rey asked, reaching up to toy with that absurdly beautiful hair of his; it was soft enough to make her jealous.

“I tried," Ben said, earnestly leaning into her touch, “but I couldn't stop looking at the clock." He wound an arm around Rey's waist, tugging her closer to him until she was practically in his lap. “Counting down the hours." 

Rey flushed. How had they gone so quickly from their casual, relaxed diner conversations to openly flaunting their attraction for each other?

_Not that she was complaining, mind you._

She gave up all pretense and situated herself so that she straddled his thighs, peppering his jawline with little kisses, caressing a little path to his ear with her lips and gently nibbling at his soft lobe. Ben hummed under her touch, his hands rubbing circles into the small of her back before tugging her cheap polyester uniform shirt free from the waistband of her work pants. Rey sighed as one of his hands made its way under the fabric, his fingertips against her skin leaving goosebumps in their wake.

“I'm not entirely sure I can live up to your expectations," Rey admitted. “I've been at work for ten hours and awake for twenty. And I probably smell horrendous."

Before he could respond, however, she tilted his face towards her and captured his lips with hers. The kiss evolved into a soft moan when his thumb brushed across her nipple, sensitive even through the thick material of her most supportive, but decidedly least sexy bra – she hadn't anticipated the night taking this turn when she'd dressed for work. It wasn't first date lingerie, hell it wasn't even _‘first four months of a relationship’_ lingerie, but at this point, Rey didn’t really care.

“You're _here_. That's enough. I was afraid I was going to scare you away," Ben replied when they finally came up for air. “But I feel guilty. You need some sleep. And for the record," he continued, ducking his head and nuzzling his nose against her neck, “you don't smell bad at all, just like coffee and syrup. But if you'd like, you can use my shower."

Standing under a stream of hot water sounded delightful, but as Rey nodded and opened her mouth to say so, another thought occurred to her. A little bit of _company_ would make things even better. “Would you like to join me?"

Ben stilled for a moment, and she felt, more than heard, the faint gasp of breath from where his face was still tucked against her. Then he recovered, pressing a small kiss to her pulse point before pulling back and lifting his gaze to meet hers. “Very much so," he answered, dark eyes locked firmly on her own.

Rey leaned in to plant another kiss on Ben's mouth, nipping at his lower lip, but climbed out of his lap before he could deepen it again. “Let's go," she said, her voice sounding bolder than she felt.

She wove her way through the suite to the bathroom, suddenly a bit nervous about what had been _her_ plan to begin with, and she found herself casting her eyes at her feet as fingers fiddled with zippers and underwear was peeled over warm flesh. When Ben had first kissed her back at the restaurant, fueled by that intense spark that ignited between them, she had been half tempted to yank him into the back for a quick fuck, health codes be damned.

But here, stripped bare in the bright, quiet privacy of his hotel bathroom, being completely open to his hungry gaze was something else altogether, something entirely more intimate then any hasty tryst would have been. Rey tried to ignore the blush burning her cheeks and took some comfort in noticing that Ben's own face was a little flushed as well, as she let down her hair and loosened the knots with her fingers.

She couldn't help darting a quick glance at his broad chest (impressive) and then lower, right between his thighs (also impressive, even only half-hard). She felt an unwelcome pang of anxiety for a moment as her traitorous mind began to nag that her own body, strong but wiry, wasn’t worthy enough.

But, almost as if he had heard the wheels spinning in her mind, Ben trailed a hand lightly along her skin, from her cheek down to her hipbone, staring at her as if in awe. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he murmured.

And even if she didn’t quite agree, Ben’s sincerity squashed those budding fears. She pressed the softest of kisses to his cheek before leading him into the shower. “Thank you.”

Rey closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of Ben’s hands on her as the water beat down, massaging her scalp and gliding over her body. It wasn't rushed, there was no race to cross the finish line. With slightly ragged breaths, they explored each other slowly, curiously and, even before Ben trailed his fingers down her taut stomach, dipping into the heat between her legs and drawing a whimper from her lips, the entire exchange was something somehow _more_ than any of her previous relationships had been in their entirety. The thought was a little overwhelming, to be honest, but for once she didn't want to run from it. She was going to meet whatever this was between them head-on.

Rey reached one hand up to tangle her fingers into Ben's wet hair and pull his mouth down to hers, while the other snaked between their slippery bodies to grasp him firmly, teasing him to full mast and earning a guttural moan from him as he involuntarily jerked and thrust into her fist.

“Rey," he groaned against her mouth. “Rey," again as he mouthed at her collarbone, leaving a love bite to mark that he'd been there. “Rey, Rey, _Rey_ ," a litany chanted into the dip between her breasts.

She thought she could very well come undone from his breath on her skin and his fevered, longing voice in her ears, to say nothing of the rough pads of his fingertips working furiously between her legs, matching the tempo of her own fist, pumping him ever faster.

Ben seized her hip bones tightly, desperately, as his head fell back and he spilled over onto Rey's hand and belly with a series of grunts and gasps, filling her with a sense of pride at having brought this man to shuddering, panting mess with only her touch.

He buried his face against the crook of Rey's shoulder and stilled for a moment as he huffed deep breaths against her skin. Rey gently carded her fingers through his hair, before shifting to let the warm water of the shower rinse them both clean.

Ben lifted his head – his eyes a little dazed and blissed-out – to press a lingering kiss to her mouth then smirked. “Your turn now," he said, awkwardly dropping to his knees.

His skin squeaked almost comically against the porcelain as he tried to find a workable angle. The bathtub was larger than Rey's shower stall at home, but not by much. He glanced up at her, an apologetic plea in his eyes. “This worked out better in my head."

“Ben, this isn't a quid pro quo situation," Rey answered with a smile, placing a hand on his cheek. And she meant it. Yes, she'd been close, and yes, she would be more than happy to find out just what that mouth was capable of. But that wasn't _why_ she'd gotten him off, it wasn't some transaction of trading orgasms.

Ben, however, still had plans. He shook off Rey's protest and instead just changed tactics, turning off the shower and helping to towel her dry before literally swooping her up in his arms. That _did_ elicit a squeal from her, as he carried her like a bride in an old romantic movie, to his bed and laid her gently onto the comforter.

The giggles quickly shifted to breathy moans and gasps, however, as he ducked his head to her core, making _very_ good use of that lush mouth and those massive fingers.

“I’ve thought about this for so long,” he growled against her sensitive skin.

Rey was too far gone to do anything other than whimper, but through the haze of lust clouding her, she could swear she heard him whisper, “ _Mine_ ,” as he dragged his tongue against her folds. ‘ _Yours’_ she thought, in unspoken reply.

Still somewhat keyed up from his ministrations in the shower, it didn't take long before Rey was shaking and sobbing beneath Ben’s touch, as her climax washed over her again and again.

When he pulled himself up the bed and collapsed next to her on the pillow, Rey tugged his hair, drawing him in for a sloppy kiss, smiling at the taste of herself on him - proof that what just happened wasn't a sleep-deprived fever dream.

Ben tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear and smiled sleepily. “I had more planned, but I think I need a little bit of time to recoup."

Rey gave breathy laugh. “I have no complaints," she said. “And we have plenty of time still, right?" she asked hopefully.

“So much time," Ben confirmed. “I'm not going anywhere."

They fell asleep in a tangle of limbs as the sun came up on a new day, and the last thought that ran through Rey's mind as she drifted out of consciousness was that the new year had arrived with significant change after all; maybe it _wasn’t_ an entirely pointless holiday.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I had to take a break from my WIP to add to the Waffle House fun. :) These two got a little mushier on me than I was anticipating when I sat down to write, but that's Reylo for ya. 
> 
> Let me know if you liked it, and if you have a tumblr or pillowfort, come find me: @orkindofamazing
> 
> Massive thanks to my wonderful beta @colliderofhadron <3


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